There and Back Again: An Emmaus Walk

Jesus has risen. He has risen indeed!

Yet even after hearing about the empty tomb, it took Jesus’ disciples time to adjust to the good news. They were grieving his death. They mourned because all their hopes for the kingdom of God were shattered by Jesus’ death and burial.

Even amazing reports of a vision of angels who said Jesus was alive weren’t enough for Cleopas and his companion. Who is the companion? We don’t know. Luke, despite all his careful research doesn’t give us a name.

Of course, there are lots of guesses. Over the years people have suggested that this was Cleopas’ wife or son, or one of the 12 apostles.

The suggestion I find the most intriguing is that Luke didn’t know the name. He left the second person anonymous so that you can put yourself in their sandals. You’re invited to travel the Emmaus road, along the emotional rollercoaster, with Cleopas, and then you can recognize Jesus with them in the breaking of the bread.

As Cleopas and his companion set out from Jerusalem, they’re discouraged and disappointed as they left town. After all Jesus’ miracles, they didn’t even stay to see why the tomb was empty. They west headed to Emmaus: 11 km away; ~2.5 h walk. It’s like walking from here to Springford, but a lot more hills.

What were they talking about as they walked into the sunset?

The events that took place in Jerusalem: Jesus’ arrest, quick trial, and crucifixion, praying at the temple and sitting with family and friends all through the sad Sabbath day. They discussed the news of women seeing angels and their companions going to see an empty tomb.

Jesus joined them as they walked along, but they were kept from recognizing him. It’s amusing, isn’t it? They’re talking all about Jesus, but the HS keeps them from recognizing him.

When Jesus asked what they’re talking about, Cleopas is astounded. What are we talking about? What else is there to talk about than all the things that happened in Jerusalem?

Then it’s Jesus’ turn to be surprised: “How foolish you are and how slow to believe.” Did he chide them fondly, you think?

It’s not the first time Jesus was surprised by his disciples’ lack of faith and understanding. He’s a little disappointed in them. After all his teaching, after all the build up to the great and dreadful Day of the Lord, they still missed all the connections between Jesus’ ministry and the OT prophets. So Jesus took a deep breath and preached them a sermon:

Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. Luke 24:27 (NIV)

This is where you get to paint yourself into the scene.

I don’t know about you, but I wish I had heard Jesus explain all the Scriptures. As we read and study the OT, praying for the HS to open our eyes, we can see some of the connections Jesus is talking about “in Moses and all the Prophets.”

Moses is credited with writing the first 5 books of the OT. The opening chapters of the Bible describe how God created the world. At the end of each day of creation, all things were declared “good.” After humans were made on day 6, creation was declared, “very good.”

There was peace in all creation. The Hebrew word is “shalom”. It carries more force than the English word “peace.” Shalom means that all relationships were perfectly healthy.

People and God,

man and woman,

food supply and demand,

plants and animals,

rain, sunshine, and the growing seasons,

all in perfect harmony.

All relationships were perfect and healthy … until Adam & Eve disobeyed God. They were told death would come from eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but in Genesis 3 you can read how they gave into the devil’s tempting and ate the fruit.

Doom fell on all creation. Our first parents became afraid of God. Their eyes were opened. They saw they were naked and vulnerable. They became ashamed and hid from each other and Gos. They blamed each other and God. The perfection of creation was knocked off kilter. Shalomwas shattered.

Wars and lies, broken relationships and illnesses, all natural disasters and other disruptions of the shalom God intended can be traced back to the sinful rebellion Moses describes in Gen. 3. But God’s rescue plan is first revealed in Gen. 2 as well.

Immediately after humans fell into sin, God spoke of Satan’s doom. The LordGod said to the serpent,

I will put enmity between you and the woman,

and between your offspring and hers;

he will crush your head,

and you will strike his heel.” Genesis 3:15 (NIV)

Luke and the authors of the other gospels are clear: Jesus is that long-promised offspring.

In Dec., we celebrated Jesus’ birth. Perhaps you remember the angel Gabriel’s words to Mary about Jesus:

The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Luke 1:35 (NIV)

Jesus is the Son of God. God entered his creation to rescue us.

Luke has been telling us throughout his gospel how Jesus is the fulfillment of all God’s promises through the OT prophets: The Lord is coming to rescue his people. Luke describes how John the Baptist was sent ahead of Jesus to “prepare the way of the Lord,” just as the OT prophet Isaiah foretold.

Wouldn’t it have been fascinating to walk over the hills to Emmaus with Jesus, listening to him unpack what all the OT prophets had said about the Messiah?

Yet that’s what Luke has been telling us in his gospel. The great and dreadful Day of the Lord has come!

The Lord has come to bring judgement on human sin.

The Lord has come to rescue the world and people he loves.

God’s judgement on sin and mercy on humankind meet when Jesus was crucified.

At the cross, Jesus faced suffering and death for the sin of all humankind: me – you – and everyone else. He bore the punishment for human sin by dying the death we deserve.

But the story of Jesus’ victory over sin and death would be incomplete if it ended there. All through the OT, we’re given assurances of new life, resurrection. Whether symbolically in the story of Jonah being spit out onto dry ground after 3 days in the belly of a fish or the assurance in Psalm 16:

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;

my body also will rest secure,

because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,

nor will you let your faithful one see decay.

You make known to me the path of life;

you will fill me with joy in your presence,

with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Psalm 16:9–11 (NIV)

There’s a similar theme in Isaiah 53:

Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,

and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,

he will see his offspring and prolong his days,

and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.

After he has suffered,

he will see the light of life and be satisfied;

by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,

and he will bear their iniquities. Isaiah 53:10–11 (NIV)

That’s one of the joys of reading through the OT. On every page you find themes, typologies, and examples of God’s rescue plan that point ahead Jesus’ death and resurrection.

That’s what’s going on during this 2 h hike. Jesus wasn’t  recognized on this trip to Emmaus, but he’s busy talking, teaching, unpacking everything that the OT said about his suffering for the forgiveness of sins and the redemption of the world. No wonder their hearts were burning while he talked and opened Scriptures. Do you ever feel your heart on fire as you read the OT and the HS reveals the connections to Jesus?

But these two were not Jesus’ disciples for nothing. They had learned something about generosity and hospitality. When they arrived at Emmaus, Jesus made as if to go farther, but they pressed him to join them for dinner. After all, it was getting late, the day was almost over.

I don’t know if these 2 disciples witnessed some of the meals Luke records. Eating with Jesus is a theme in Luke’s gospel. A few years ago we highlighted the meals as we read the gospel together:

There are 2 transformative meals with tax collectors:

Levi is early in the gospel

Zaccheus lives down in Jericho; meal on the way in

Meals with 3 Pharisees

The feeding of 5000 men + women and children

A meal with Martha

And the last supper

Eating with Jesus is a big deal. Oddly, when Cleopas and his companion sit down with Jesus to eat, Jesus takes the role of someone who serves.

When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. Luke 24:30–31 (NIV)

The action was simple. Yet suddenly, in a way totally different than Adam & Eve, these two had their eyes opened. When Adam & Eve had their eyes open, they recognized their guilt and shame. When Cleopas’ eyes were opened, he saw Jesus, our Saviour and Lord, who takes away our guilt and shame.

Finally, the 2 recognized Jesus. And he disappeared. It’s only after they hiked and jogged and stumbled all the way back to the other disciples in Jerusalem that they saw Jesus again.

Jesus himself stood among them

and said to them, “Peace be with you.” Luke 24:36 (NIV)

Whenever 2 or 3 disciples come together in Jesus’ name, Jesus is with them and brings his peace – Shalom.

This is the good news of the gospel: the kingdom of God has come and all things are being made new.

We get a taste of that here in the church: restored relationships, permission to try and to fail and to try again, safety from shame, and the opportunity to eat and drink together. In fellowship with our risen Lord, we read Scripture together and see how all of it points to the Messiah who suffered for our salvation.